John Rustad vows to eliminate BC Bill-44 if elected.

Conservative leader John Rustad has pledged to eliminate BC Bill-44 if elected.

Finally a leader has taken an opposite stance on this elephant in the room issue during the election.

Rustad Would Scrap Zoning Reforms, Keep Rent Control | The Tyee

Rustad pledges $10B in infrastructure while scrapping density increase - Oak Bay News

This puts a glimmer of hope on the horizon that the draconian and reckless Bill-44 can be eliminated with a new government.

If Premier Eby is at all wise, he will back down on Bill-44 himself, rather than missing his rapidly dwindling window of opportunity, and thus likely taking his own party down with their dud undemocratic housing bill; and in the process cementing his legacy as leader of the party.

Sonia Furstenau of the Greens should also be attentive and take a strong stand on this issue, as Bill-44 has devastating consequences on urban forests/ecology:

B.C. Bill 44 could trigger ‘catastrophic loss’ of urban forests | The Narwhal

The Greens opposed Bill-44 when it was being passed, but have been noticeably quiet on the issue during the actual election.  Why? In the words of Zac de la Roca, what better time than now?  Carpe diem.

Having the Conservatives take a more publicly environmental stance on this issue than the Greens is not good positionally for the Greens going into the rapidly approaching election. 

Catching the Greens off-guard and sleeping on the environment and thus upstaging them on this critical issue, does not bode well for the Greens, but does bode well for the Conservatives, which although not known for taking green issues, also helps separate them in the minds of many voters from the former BC Liberals and the BC United; whose leader Kevin Falcon was recently lobbied by the same Urban Development Institute (UDI).  This was the same lobby which lobbied pre-zoning to David Eby's government, and which historically was very close to the BC Liberals prior to the lobby taking the helm of NDP housing policy and bringing it to its lowest depths.

Make no mistake about it BC Bill-44 is the most comprehensive attempt at pre-zoning across British Columbia that has ever been attempted and if it is not stopped will be disastrous for our communities, environment and fiscal balance sheets.

Rustad should drop his own rhetoric that can be seen as doublespeak about advancing pre-zoning through municipal Official Community Plans (OCPs) by working together with municipalities.  However it should be noted that his approach here appears to be considerably less authoritarian than the undemocratic vast blanket upzoning of BC Bill 44.

Rustad to be consistent should also fully reject and vow to repeal Bills 46-47 which were also reckless, having many of the same disastrous pitfalls as Bill-44, and which were tabled around the same time as Bill-44.

We live in interesting times...

May Bill-44 be reversed this election before it is too late for the dire consequences to be reversed.

See also: Why BC’s Forced Rush to Rezone Neighbourhoods Is Wrong | The Tyee

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